Chronic Care Management (CCM) services just got a whole lot more important to practices across the U.S. as another major payor commits to investing in and rewarding coordinated, patient-centered care.Beginning February 23, 2019, Anthem will reimburse claims submitted for CCM services in addition to claims submitted for Advanced Care Planning (ACP) services.This is an enormous step forward for physicians looking to improve health outcomes via coordinated care.

CCM Services Still Lagging

Hopefully this commitment from Anthem will bring a newfound enthusiasm from healthcare providers who haven’t taken the step to implement CCM services in their practices.Many providers state that the time and financial investment rolling out this program in their practices would require is simply too big of an obstacle.What’s unfortunate, is that many of these providers are unaware of the value that CCM vendors can bring to the table.

It’s not unlike outsourcing your medical billing, which has been proven to increase clean claims rates while reducing denials and errors overall.Many mid to large practices outsource their medical billing to avoid the expense of constantly training staff on ICD updates, etc.Additionally, they avoid the expense of staff overturn and training.Outsourcing medical billing is simply utilizing billing experts who do nothing but billing day in, day out to process your billing for a percentage based on your monthly claims.

Vendors who offer outsourced CCM services are specialists at providing this service day in and day out to thousands of patients across the United States.This allows a doctor to implement the service very quickly into his or her practice without the expense of hiring staff, purchasing additional equipment such as computers and phone lines, etc., is no long necessary.The vendor works as an extension of your office and handles everything from the consent to providing a digital note of each visit.The practice is then able to bill for the service and pay a percentage of their reimbursement to the vendor.

With Anthem joining CMS based on the understanding that the research has proven the value of CCM services, we look for other large payers to join the movement for more coordinated care and improved health outcomes.

For more information on how your practice can begin offering CCM services to your patients, click here.